Allentown Street Closed When Trash Truck Tips Police

June 11, 1985|The Morning Call

The 600 block of Union Street was closed for two hours last night while employes of Browning-Ferris Industries and Allentown street crews cleaned up 20 cubic feet of garbage spilled from a 40-cubic-yard container.

Police said the container of garbage - collected yesterday in Phillipsburg tires blew out while the driver was making a left turn from S. 7th Street onto Union Street.

Investigators said the blowout caused the truck to lean to the right, causing the container of garbage to fall off and empty onto the street. The fire department was called to the scene due to a ruptured fuel line and batteries.

Police said BFI dispatched another truck and the container was loaded onto it. They also provided a smaller container to be filled with the spilled garbage by city crews. The disabled truck was towed away.

Police said the container damaged the street surface, a no parking sign and pole, a sidewalk, curb and lawn on property of the Allentown Housing Authority.

The driver of the truck was identified as Jim Haas of 143 E. Mountain Road, Allentown.

Police said the garbage was being transported to the BFI facilities at 444 Lehigh St. to be hauled to the Grand Central Sanitation landfill operation in Pen Argyl.